ENCINITAS  More than 140 fifth-grade students and their parents dipped the front tires of their bikes into the Pacific Ocean at Moonlight Beach Saturday, completing the final stretch of a long and grueling bicycle ride across the state.

Cheers broke out from a crowd of over 100 people waving signs just after 2 p.m. as the riders came into view along B Street in Encinitas. This was the 22nd annual Ride Across California, a more than 200-mile, weeklong trek from Yuma, Ariz., to Encinitas.

The ride, organized by the Rancho Family YMCA’s Bike Club, is aimed at teaching kids that they can accomplish anything with planning and perseverance.

“It’s really all about goal setting and being able to accomplish that goal,” said Gary Rossi, lead coordinator of the ride. “And hopefully learn a little bit about cycling.”

In Yuma, the riders dipped their back tires into the waters of the Colorado River before turning back west, riding between 30 and 50 miles a day.

Along the way, the group camped in schools and RV campgrounds. They also stopped at the strawberry fields in Carlsbad to pick fruit to eat.

Rossi said every trip has its challenges, including 30 mph headwinds in Ocotillo and a minor case of food poisoning this week. But overall, he said the ride is a learning experience for the students and parents.

Everyone made it, but some had a few scrapes and spills along the way.

On Friday, 10-year-old Maya Marshall from Rancho Peñasquitos was thrown to the side of the road when a truck clipped her bicycle near Ramona. Her bike was wrecked, but she borrowed another and finished the ride.

“I don’t think I had time to be scared,” Maya said.

Maya had a small scratch but was otherwise fine, her mother, Kari Marshall, said.

“I think the week overall was a good experience,” Marshall said. “It teaches the kids what they can do. I have two younger kids, and I’ll be coming back at least twice more.”

Another rider, Cadence Beisigl, 11, of El Cajon fell off her bicycle on Monday and got a cut on her leg that required three stitches. Her sister, 14-year-old Blythe Beisigl, finished her second ride Saturday.

“It’s just a really good experience and a lot of fun,” Blythe said. “It’s hard, but it’s fun.”

The idea for the ride came from Dennis Beuker, a fifth-grade teacher at Deer Canyon Elementary School. Beuker became inspired by a book describing a family’s biking experience across America.

He approached then-principal Mike Fickel with the idea to take fifth-graders and their families on a bike ride of discovery across the state. Fickel agreed and the Bike Club was born.

Organizers said the riders go through several months of training, starting in August with rides into Rancho Peñasquitos Canyon and then the hills in Escondido.

In between, there are meetings at the Rancho Family YMCA to teach the students about bike safety, proper gear, and bike maintenance and repair.

“It’s an awesome experience,” said Dawn Beisigl, Cadence and Blythe’s mother. “I’m proud of my alumni rider and I’m proud of my fifth-grader who was brave enough to go through stitches in the hospital … and then we get to try again next year.”